


Missing Stars

by LilPotterfanfic



Series: Stars to Hold [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:35:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28092504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilPotterfanfic/pseuds/LilPotterfanfic
Summary: It's the day of the Second Task, and Cedric can't find Maddie.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Maddie Goldfinch, Cedric Diggory/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Stars to Hold [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2058105
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14
Collections: Stars to Hold





	Missing Stars

**Stars to Hold**

**_Interlude One: Missing Stars_ **

_ “Be great in act, as you have been in thought.” _

_ William Shakespeare _

_ The Second Task. Early February 24, 1995. The Prefects’ Bathroom. _

Maddie was hardly ever late.

For someone who claimed to be a walking disaster, she was remarkably put together. She was always early or on time, always had her homework done and her hair brushed. She remembered who had Prefect duty when, and who liked who, and how everyone took their tea. She was beautiful and kind and so, so intelligent and Cedric was getting off topic.

Where was Maddie?

They’d planned to meet up in the prefects’ washroom to practice for the Task. If she’d decided to get some sleep instead, Cedric was fine with that (she helped him too much as it was), but he figured she’d at least have told him first. He was worried. He’d thought about going up to the Gryffindor Tower to find her, but he reasoned that maybe she’d just gotten held up. Now, though, the sun was rising and there was still no sign of her.

He tried not to be anxious as he dressed and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. Had it finally happened? Had she finally decided she was done with him?

_ No,  _ he told himself.  _ No, Maddie wouldn’t do that. _

He knew that. Logically, he knew, by some miracle, Maddie cared about him almost as much as he cared about her. But he couldn’t help but worry.

Cedric had liked her for the longest time. Like was too small of a word for it, nowadays. (But they hadn’t said the big word yet.) He’d always found her pretty (everyone did) with her strawberry blonde hair and her huge brown eyes and those freckles and those dimples and her  _ smile-- _

Anyways. She was the smartest girl in their year, always had the right answer in class and was always willing to help with homework, or to tutor someone before an exam. She was brave and confident in all the ways Cedric wasn’t. She spoke up in class, argued with Snape, and told the funniest jokes. Cedric had always wanted to talk with her, really talk with her, but he was never brave enough. 

It had also never helped that she was always surrounded by friends; the Weasley twins in particular. For a while, most people thought she was dating one of them. Ben and Diego used to have a running bet going for which one. But then Fred went out with Ophelia Rushdin, and George took Hestia Carrow for a date, and everyone realized that Maddie was single. Cedric had rarely been as hopeful as the day they all figured it out.

It wasn’t until they were Potions partners that he finally worked up the nerve to talk with her, and everything spiraled from there. He fell more and more in love with her every day. Maddie was fierce and funny and kind and smart and so, so, so loving. She was the sweetest person alive, so helpful and dedicated and--

“Where is she?” he asked out loud.

“Who?” Ben asked around his mouthful of eggs.

Riley snorted. “You know who. Maddie hasn’t come to breakfast yet.”

She hadn’t. Cedric had been watching the door anxiously for her to walk through, ignoring every attempt Amon made to get him to eat. The latest attempt was toast. Amon was unsuccessful.

Breakfast passed with no sign of Maddie. Cedric knew he had to be at the lake soon, but as he left the Great Hall, he stopped by the Gryffindor table.

“Fred, George,” he called, “have you seen Maddie yet this morning?”

George shook his head and Fred answered, “No. Haven’t seen her since last night. She was supposed to meet you, right?”

“Right,” said Cedric, but he didn’t have time to talk with them beyond that. He was already running late as it was. 

He sat anxiously through the check-in for the Champions. Harry wasn’t there, but Cedric couldn’t focus. He could barely think straight.

_ Get it together, Ced, _ he told himself sternly.  _ People are counting on you. Everyone’s counting on you.  _

He cleared his mind and cast the Bubblehead Charm. Fleur had the same idea, and Victor seemed to be attempting to Transfigure himself into a shark. Cedric caught sight of Harry running to the shore as he submerged himself below the surface.

Swimming in the Great Lake was very different from the prefects’ tub. In the tub, he didn’t have to deal with murky waters, or the cold, or Gryndelows. Nonetheless, he surpassed all of these obstacles with ease. 

As he swam, he imagined what would be waiting for him when he got back to the surface. His friends, cheering and teasing. Hogwarts would have another win under its belt and his dad would send him a Howler the next morning raving about how proud he was. And Maddie would be waiting for him. She’d be all sheepish and apologetic, probably having overslept after reading a good book. And she’d be proud of him no matter what place he came in.

The merpeople’s village loomed in front of him, and Cedric swam onward. He knew he was in the lead, but Fleur was right behind him and Viktor was a shark. And Harry always managed to pull through somehow. If Cedric wanted Hogwarts to come in first, he needed to hurry.

But the closer he got, the more clearly he could make out the shapes floating above the statue in the village’s square. The more clearly he could see that they were  _ people,  _ people he  _ knew _ ! And one of them was--

_ “We’ve taken what you’ll sorely miss, _

_ An hour long you'll have to look, _

_ And to recover what we took, _

_ But past an hour, the prospect's black, _

_ Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.” _

Maddie.


End file.
